Interview: Frank Iero of ‘FrnkIero andthe Cellabration’ on the painful birthing process of his debut solo LP, ‘Stomachaches’

There is a real sense of yearning and pain in the lyrics, were you apprehensive about being so revealing? 

Yea, but also there are a lot of stories on the record that are not my personal experiences or view points. They come from situations that I have observed. And those were the hardest to let go of I think. I felt a bit strange putting other people’s situations out there… but I believe I left it general enough to not ruin their privacy.

Musically, the album is pretty raw, but there are some monster hooks on these tracks, was that always the goal? 

I’m a huge fan of simple melodies. I also love the human element of things. My favorite parts of music are the mistakes. So I wanted something broken yet beautiful. Strong yet fragile.

Your first solo song was released on the soundtrack to Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie, how did that come about? 

Yes, that was really fun. Basically, Disney asked a few different artists if they were interested in coming to see the film in its early stages and possibly writing some music for it. At the time, My Chemical Romance was just too busy to do it, so I went and saw the film and kinda fell in love with it, and the next day while I was feeding my kids breakfast, wrote the song.

The mixtape playlists you’ve been posting on your site are great (ending a Valentine’s Day playlist with Pantera is always a good choice), is that something you plan on continuing? 

Haha thanks. I feel like mixtapes are a lost art. I’ve always loved making them for people and I thought that would be a fun way to communicate with kids and turn them on to different music. I’d like to keep it up. I’ve been slacking on the Internet a bit lately though. Real life has been so busy. I’m going to try my best though to get back to it.

What’s up next for the band? Anything else lined up that you can let us in on? 

Well, lots of touring basically. We finish the US headliner April 2 and then start the UK/EU on April 16. And then there’s a lot more in the works, but unfortunately I can’t say just yet. I’d also really like to get into the studio again in the not too distant future.

FrnkIero And The Cellabration with The Homeless Gospel Choir and Modern Chemistry play Bar le Ritz PDB (179 Rue Jean-Talon-Ouest) on February 24th at 8:00pm. Tickets are $18/$20, available here.